Margaret Owen, Patron of Peace in Kurdistan discusses the Women’s Revolution in Rojava.

A village for Women

Rojava”s law: Not just for Women but for democratic life.

This one small book explains the inspiring Rojava Revolution.

A look at Rojava’s democratic, feminist revolution

Syria’s war liberates Kurdish women as it oppresses others

YPJ-Şengal: We Will Resist With The Spirit Of All Our Berivans

Êzidî women to celebrate their feast under the flag of YJŞ

Meet the Women of JINHA, the Kurdish All-Female News Agency

Women on the frontlines of Kurdish struggles: An interview with JİNHA women’s news agency

Thousands of women march in Amed to mark March 8

Standing alongside all Kurdish women on International Women’s Day

A Kurdish Girl’s Lonely Death

Autopsy report confirms three Kurdish women were executed

Women continue to protect their neighborhoods

YPS-Jin declared in Diyarbakır

Vandana Shiva Plants Seeds At Yedikule Gardens

ARTE documentary on Kurdish woman fighters on Women’s Day

ACTION

Women’s Alliance and Peace in Kurdistan call for support for Professor Sibel Ozbudun.

STATEMENT

Free Women’s Congress condemns killing of activists in Silopi

NEWS

A revolution for our times: Rojava, Northern Syria.4th April 2016/ Open Democracy

Travelling in Rojava is to witness a revolution experimenting with a form of stateless, direct democracy with women’s liberation, race and class equality at the heart of it.Part One.
When the ‘Arab Spring’ spread to Syria in 2011, Bashar Al Assad withdrew most of his forces from the predominantly Kurdish areas of Northern Syria to concentrate his firepower on the rebel forces in the South. The political freedoms of the Kurds had been heavily restricted by Assad, expressions of Kurdish identity were criminalised and their demographic density was diluted by Assad’s ‘Arabisation’ policy in which Arabs were resettled in Kurdish areas. The Kurds took advantage of Assad’s distractedness; under the direction of PYD (Democratic Union Party) which was influenced by the ideology of ‘democratic confederalism’ propounded by Abdullah Öcalan, jailed leader of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) across the border in Turkey, the Syrian Kurds set up a secular and ethnically inclusive, genuinely bottom-up democratic system. It is valiantly defended by men and women soldiers (YPG/YPJ) against ISIS which is unsuccessfully attempting to erode its Southern border.

A revolution for our times: Rojava, Northern Syria.
11th April 2016/ Open Democracy
Travelling in Rojava is to witness the ways in which the different commitments to the revolution present a conundrum. How can one system satisfy the vast differences in human aspirations?Part 2.This is the second in a series of articles by Rahila Gupta as she witnesses a revolution in Rojava.
Its 3.30pm and Daham Basha, the border control officer, is clocking off. He jumps into the car with me because his home town Rîmelan, is on the way to Amuda where I am to be hosted by the Media Centre. The rolling countryside is dotted with oil wells, one reason why Rojava may prove to be self-sustaining and why both Assad and ISIS might want to get their grubby hands on it.https://www.opendemocracy.net/rahila-gupta/rojava-s-commitment-to-jineoloj-science-of-women

A revolution for our times: Rojava, Northern Syria.
26th April 2016/ Open DemocracyIn less than four years, the women’s umbrella organisation, Kongira Star, has set up an autonomous, grassroots, democratic structure which has resulted in shifting patriarchal mindsets and reversing gender discriminatory laws.Part 3.
On day three of my trip to Rojava, Nuvin and Essam from the media centre take me to the offices of Kongira Star, the umbrella organisation for women, based in Qamişlo, capital city of Rojava. Like all the other cities, Qamişlo, is painted in the colours of a palette made from sand as it responds to the changing light of the sun travelling across the sky. It stands in dusty contrast to the fresh green of cultivated fields and the turquoise of the sky. I am told that by May, when the rains have gone, the green too will turn to khaki. We are stopped by a woman asayish (police officer) on the way, she looks frantically and nervously around the seven seater car. The asayish is made up equally of men and women but there is a separate women-only asayish force which polices sexual and domestic violence against women. Apparently they have information that an ISIS woman suicide bomber is expected in Qamişlo that day.https://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/rahila-gupta/rojava-revolution-it-s-raining-women

4.The Next System Project
We asked Ruken Isik, currently working on a PhD exploring the struggles of Kurdish women, to help us understand what Rojava can teach us about building gender equity into the next system. In what follows, she fills in the historical context around feminist organizing in Northern Syria and traces the innovative practices and policies developing on the ground, as an introduction for two interviews she conducted with YPJ (Women’s Protection Unit) commanders Meryem Kobani and Roza Haseke.
The struggles of Kurdish women in Rojava Kurdistan (Northern Syria) became known to many people in the world during the brutal attacks of ISIS against the city of Kobane in northern Syria on September 15th, 2014. While Kurdish men and women were trying to defend the city from ISIS militia men with limited ammunition and inadequate weapons, compared to sophisticated weapons in the hands of ISIS, Kurds worldwide took to the streets to be voice for Kurds in Rojava and Kobane. From the battle to defend Kobane onward, Western media and politicians have started to talk about the brave Kurdish women who are fighting against ISIS and its brutal treatment—including enslavement—of women.http://thenextsystem.org/kurdish-women-struggle-for-a-next-system-in-rojava-kurdistan-northern-syria/

Margaret Owen, Patron of Peace in Kurdistan discusses the Women’s Revolution in Rojava.

A village of women is the dream of many women in this world, and today women in Rojava, Syria, have a chance to realize it. Rojava women have started a political and social revolution, and they expand it day by day. This revolution defends women’s rights both practically and ideologically – and makes it possible to fulfill dreams of freedom of women worldwide and from different generations.

KOBANÎ – In the face of a patriarchal mindset that has marginalized women for years, the Women’s Law is showing the possibilities for equality between men and women in Rojava. Women’s rights activist Newroz Miştenûr spoke to JINHA’s Gulan Botan on the ways Women’s Law provides the underpinning for a democratic life in Rojava.

Rojava’s social revolution deserves more global attention and solidarity. The Kurdish autonomous region in Northern Syria is a working experiment creating a society based on direct democracy, with women’s empowerment central in that model. It is being organized beyond and outside a state-centric capitalist system; mutual aid and cooperation are challenging structural exploitation and inequality. Remarkably, all of this emerges out of the Syrian crisis where the predominantly Kurdish Rojava experiment continues despite an existential fight against ISIS, the fascist and genocidal caliphate. – See more at: http://www.occupy.com/article/one-small-book-explains-inspiring-rojava-revolution#sthash.BxddfUkx.dpuf

A look at Rojava’s democratic, feminist revolution

5th October 2015/Green Left

Rojava, the Kurdish-majority liberated zone in northern Syria, is the location of a unique experiment in grassroots, participatory democracy.

It is undergoing a profound social revolution that emphasises social and economic equality, ecology, religious tolerance, ethnic inclusion, collectivity combined with individual freedom and, most obviously, feminism.

Syria’s war liberates Kurdish women as it oppresses others
Monday 29th February/Reuters
NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Nubohar Mustafa is proud of what her leaders and fellow activists have done for Kurdish women in northern Syria.Coming from the self-proclaimed autonomous region of Rojava, wedged between the Turkish border and territory held by Islamic State, Mustafa enjoys freedoms that few women living under the militants’ rule could dream of.
Polygamy is no longer tolerated, underage marriage is outlawed and violence against women addressed with strict legislation in Rojava, which has been governed by a Kurdish party since Syrian state forces withdrew from most of the area in 2012 – a year after civil war erupted across Syria.http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-women-idUSKCN0W20F4

YPJ-Şengal: We Will Resist With The Spirit Of All Our Berivans

25th February/The Rojava Report

The Yekîneyên Parastina Jin a Şengal (YPJ-Şengal), or Women’s Defense Units of Şengal, held its first congress between 12-13 February in the mountains of Şengal (Sinjar) – reports an article from JİNHA carried in Özgür Gündem.

In addition to changing the name of the group from the YPJ-Şengal to the Yekîneyên Jinên Şengal (YJŞ), or Women’s Units of Şengal, many other important decisions were taken regarding organization and self-defense.

The Shengal Women Unite (YJŞ) Military Council member Zeynep Cudi made evaluations about the feast Çarşama Sor (Red Wednesday).” All women must join the YJŞ with the occasion of Çarşema Sor. Let’s build new life together. Let’s make this life meaningful.” said Zeynep.

The reporters of JINHA women’s news agency have certainly picked a tough beat. Their colleagues wait in prison on charges of terrorism, as every day they navigate bombings, kidnappings and shootings in a region more famed for violent attacks than gender equality.

Women on the frontlines of Kurdish struggles: An interview with JİNHA women’s news agency

21 January 2016 / Corporate Watch

In 2015, Corporate Watch visited Bakur (meaning ‘North’ in Kurmanji), the Kurdish region within Turkey’s borders. We interviewed two journalists from JİNHA (Jin Haber Ajansı), an all-women news agency made up of mostly Kurdish women, based in Amed (Diyarbakır in Turkish).

Thousands of women staged a march in the main Kurdish city Amed to mark the finale of March 8 International Women’s Day rallies in North Kurdistan. Women expressed their determination to continue resisting until freedom for women and Kurdistan were won.

On International Women’s Day, 8 March 2016, Peace in Kurdistan campaign stands alongside all Kurdish women, across Kurdistan and in the diaspora, who are engaged in the struggle for Kurdish liberation and their just democratic rights. Peace in Kurdistan campaign also expresses its solidarity with the millions of women fighting for social justice, women’s rights and freedom from state violence who are so often at the forefront of global liberation movements.

An autopsy was performed on the bodies of three Kurdish woman politicians DBP Assembly member Sêvê Demir, Silopi People’s Assembly co-chair Pakize Nayır and KJA activist Fatma Uyar and one youth near them who were killed by state forces in Şırnak’s Silopi district the day before.

The report of the autopsy at Şırnak State Hospital today has revealed that all the four people had been shot by multiple bullets.

Report on Sêvê Demir’s death reveals that she was shot by 11 bullets of 5x3cm, 2×1.5 cm and 2×1 cm size. Accordingly, front part of Demir’s skull disintegrated, her nasal bone and covering skin was divided into two, her headroom became visible”.

Reacting the massacres of the women and the blockades in Sur and other districts in Kurdistan,Diyarbakır women said, “They should know that women are endless and they will never obey.The women will struggle everywhere and they will play an important role in protecting their neighborhoods and areas where they are living.” The resistances of people are on the 37th day in Sur district of Diyarbakır and 25th day in Cizre and Silopi districts of Şırnak against the blockade(refering to the 24 hours curfews). Medine Çur, reacted the martial law practices and said, “Our people’s dead bodies remain on the Street, that’s enough.The more they ban,the more we will be on the areas. We won’t leave our people’s dead bodies on the streets anymore.”

YPS-Jin declared in Diyarbakır

16 January 2015 / Jinha

Women in Diyarbakır have announced the foundation of the Women’s Civil Defense Units (YPS-Jin). The women’s defense organization YPS-Jin, recently founded in many cities in Northern Kurdistan, has announced the founding of its Diyarbakır units. The Diyarbakır Command of the YPS-Jin released a written announcement on the occasion. The YPS-Jin noted that the ruling AKP power in Turkey had sacrificed the peace process, initiated by jailed PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] leader Abdullah Öcalan, for its own narrow gains.

Vandana Shiva has visited the threatened gardens of Yedikule in Istanbul to show support for the resistance there. “This place is our future,” said Vandana.

The historical market gardens of Yedikule in Istanbul are under threat, as Istanbul security attempts to raze the area. Support for the gardens and the barricades protecting them has come from eco-feminist writer Vandana Shiva, who visited the gardens with a group of environmental activists today.

“You’re standing up for your future here,” said Vandana. She addressed the women of Bostancı: “Mothers, found a university and teach your grandchildren the way you plant these seeds. This is our future.”

German-French TV channel ARTE is broadcasting a new documentary on the struggle of woman fighters in Kurdistan. The documentary entitled ‘Kurdistan, Girls at War (Der Freiheitskampf der Kurdinnen/Kurdistan, La Guerre des Filles) was prepared by Mylene Sauloy, documents Sauloy’s visits to Rojava and Shengal in 2015, and will be broadcast this evening.

Women’s Alliance and Peace in Kurdistan call for support for Professor Sibel Ozbudun who is being tried, yet again, simply for expressing peaceful political views online, in this instance through posting photos and poems on her Facebook page. Sibel is a writer, academic and anthropologist, not a terrorist! If you would like to express support for her please see the links in the article below, many thanks.
Here is a link to some of her academic work. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?lr=lang_en&q=sibel+ozbudun&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5

Her prosecution is yet another example of the Turkish authorities’ repression of pro-Kurdish citizens and a legal absurdity. The case against Sibel Ozbudun, Turkish writer, academic, anthropologist, based on the charge of public prosecutor “that she is making propaganda of the ‘armed terror organization, PKK/KCK through postings on her facebook page” will be held on April 2016 by the 2nd High Criminal Court of Ankara.
Sibel Özbudun was previously tried on the charge of “incohate offence” (article 214/1 of Turkish Penal Code) through postings (photos and poems!) in her Facebook page. She was acquitted in the case held on March 2016.
This acquittal demonstrates once again the importance of local and international solidarity.
We call you to demonstrate your support and solidarity with Sibel Özbudun. Letters to Turkish authorities, petitions, spreading of the news, and all of your creative contributions are very wellcome! Place: Ankara Adliyesi 2. Ağır Ceza Mahkemesi
Date of trial: April 20th, 2016
Time of trial: 9.00 a.m.STATEMENT

EMERGENCY APPEAL FOR AFRIN

Life in Afrin

Weekly News Briefing

Jeremy Corbyn issues statement of support for the National Demo

Message from Jeremy Corbyn to Kurdish national demonstration in London:
“I’m sorry not to be able to be with you today, but I send a message of solidarity with today’s demonstration, and with the Kurdish people, under sustained attack across the Middle East.
The conflict in Syria has been the trigger for an onslaught against the Kurdish people, who are defending their autonomy and their rights.
We are watching closely the alarming events that have been unfolding in Turkey in recent weeks, including the killing of civilians and destruction of Kurdish homes.
Any negotiated settlement of the Syrian conflict must include peace and justice for the Kurds, including in Turkey. And the Turkish government needs as a matter of urgency to restart the peace process with the Kurds and respect the rights of all its people.
We call for an end to repression of the Kurds and justice for the Kurdish people throughout the Middle East.”

Destruction and Repression in North Kurdistan

Freedom for Ocalan!

On the 19th anniversary of his kidnap and imprisonment by Turkey, we renew our call for Abdullah Ocalan to be freed as part of a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question.